I surmise we’re suppose to have some sort of sympathy for Obama or something

(Washington Post) President Obama went through with a campaign appearance in Las Vegas on Wednesday evening and, after laboring to quiet an exuberant crowd, began his speech with a somber tribute to the four Americans killed Tuesday in Libya.

Obama, visibly weary and seeming to struggle to display the usual energy and sharpness of his campaign appearances, opened with a description of the “tough day that we’ve had today.” With a crowd of more than 8,000 at a Las Vegas convention center still screaming and cheering, Obama, wearing no jacket and his sleeves rolled up, held up his hands and paid tribute to the dead, who he said “were working to advance the interests and the values that we hold dear as Americans.”

That’s how he describes a day when 4 Americans were killed, including the visusal of the body of the US Ambassador to Libya being dragged in the streets. The embassy was torched. The embassy in Egypt was attacked, the US flag torn down, and a flag similar to the al Qaeda flag was hoisted. And the embassy in Cairo was attacked again last night. That’s his “tough day”

(NY Times) “We want to send a message all around the world,’’ Mr. Obama said. “No act of terror will dim the light of the values that we proudly shine on the rest of the world, and no act of violence will shake the resolve of the United States of America.”

Mr. Obama reiterated his intention to punish those responsible, saying: “Al Qaeda is on the path to defeat and bin Laden is dead. We still face threats in this world and we’ve got to remain vigilant, and that’s why we will be relentless in our pursuit of those who attacked us yesterday.”

And he spikes the football again. Perhaps the militant protesters are a bit upset over their icon being killed and used as a campaign talking point. As for pursuing the attackers, how well does that work when the President immediately hits the campaign trail? Probably about as well as the jobs market, to which Obama has stated time after time after time after time that he’ll focus on as his #1 priority. And while he was making yet another campaign appearance

(NY Times) Turmoil in the Arab world linked to a contentious video denigrating the Prophet Muhammad spread on Thursday to Yemen, where hundreds of protesters stormed the United States Embassy, two days after assailants killed the American ambassador in Libya and crowds tried to overrun the embassy compound in Cairo.

In Sana, witnesses said Yemeni security forces had tried to disperse a crowd at the fortified embassy compound in the east of Sana, the capital. But protesters broke through an outer perimeter protecting the embassy, clambering over a high wall and setting fire to a building.

They were forced to retreat after trying to plunder furniture and computers, the witnesses said.

Security forces guarding the embassy fired into the air as protesters set fire to two vehicles and burned tires. Protesters tore down and burned an American flag, replacing it with their own banner proclaiming the Islamic faith, witnesses said.

Said flag was black with the message “There is no God but Allah.” Similar to al Qaeda’s flag. Imagine that.

News reports also spoke of a separate protest in Tehran, where around 500 Iranians chanting “Death to America” tried to converge on the Swiss Embassy, which handles United States interests in the absence of formal diplomatic relations with Washington.

The Swiss Embassy represents US interests in Iran, hence the protest. In Germany, a worker at the US consulate in Germany fell ill after being handed a letter with a powdery substance in it, though no one is sure what as of yet, or whether it is linked.

Fortunately, Obama is all over it (Washington Post link above)

He was scheduled to travel to Denver after his Las Vegas appearance for a campaign event in suburban Golden on Thursday morning.

Imagine this was President Bush: think the media would treat him with kid gloves, or would they be in Force 10 Apoplexy?